Quick Setup Guide

Introduction
November 2013 29
NDIS-Compliant NICs
Issue: NICs that do not support promiscuous mode packet capturing will prevent
monitoring and recording from working.
NOTE: The Unified CM capture method of monitoring and recording
does not depend on promiscuous mode to work. The information in
this section pertains only to the desktop- and server-based capture
methods.
In order for the packet capturing software to see the audio packets sent over the
network by the phones, the NIC used by the software must support promiscuous
mode packet capturing. If this mode is not supported, the phone's audio packets will
not be seen by the software. This results in no sound when monitoring or empty files
when recording a call and possible error messages that monitoring or recording has
failed.
The only exception to this is if the desktop capture method is used and the agent has
a soft phone. This is because the soft phone and the agent's PC share the same
IP address, so an application running on the PC will be able to see the audio streams.
For the desktop capture method, the NIC is on the agent's PC. For the server capture
method, the NIC is on the VoIP server and the one connected to the SPAN session
destination port on the network switch.
In practice, the vast majority of available NICs support promiscuous mode packet
capturing. In those that do not, there might be a workaround available from the
manufacturer that will allow it to support this mode. If there is no workaround, the only
other option is to purchase a NIC that supports this mode.
Agent Phones
Issue: Particular phone models might be required to support a selected capture
method.
Depending on the capture method, there might be requirements for the model of
Cisco IP phone that is used. These requirements are in addition to any set by the
software concerning features other than monitoring and recording.
Desktop Capture Method
The hard IP phone used by the agent must be able to be daisy-chained to the agent's
PC and be configured to send its audio streams to the PC so the packet capture
software can capture and process the data. At a minimum, the phone must contain a
second network connection that can be used to connect to the agent's PC. However,
not all phones with this second connection can be configured to send its network
traffic down to the PC.